Lost Flashback: "Man of Science, Man of Faith"Review

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We finally find out what is in the hatch!

By Chris Carabott

[Editor's Note: As we did last summer, we're going back to previous seasons of Lost and reviewing the episodes in order, as part of IGN TV's "Flashback Reviews." This week we begin with the season two premiere, "Man of Science, Man of Faith."]

"Man of Science, Man of Faith" has one of my favorite openings to a Lost episode ever. The audience has spent the entire summer wondering what could possibly be in that hatch and you have to give the creative team credit for coming up with the exact opposite of what most people were probably expecting. I assumed the whole opening sequence was a flashback of some sort until we suddenly hear the eruption of the hatch being blasted open. Who would have thought there was a comfortable, furnished apartment hidden on the island? The final shot of the camera pulling out of Desmond's world circa 1977 into the world we've become familiar with over the course of the first season is priceless. Jack and Locke now peer into the unknown and the next stage of their journey begins.

Even though I knew exactly how Jack's flashback was going to play out the second time through, it wasn't any less emotionally striking. All of the important beats struck me the same way. Especially Jack's classic "I'm going to fix you" line to Sarah just before he operates on her. Full credit has to be given to Julie Bowen as Sarah who spends most of her screen time on her back and still manages to give an exceptional performance. Matthew Fox's distracting fake hair doesn't impact his performance either.

This is really one of the stronger Jack flashbacks in the entire series. It plays on his ability to lead and more importantly his ability to find hope in the face of insurmountable odds. With Sarah, he struggles to find hope that he can 'fix' her while on the island he has to face the mass of survivors and give them hope when it appears there is none. The flashbacks are edited incredibly well with the on island content. Jack's struggle with faith in himself flows seamlessly from flashback scenes into current events. At first glance, the title "Man of Science, Man of Faith" is meant to represent Jack and Locke but really the episode is about Jack having to embrace both aspects himself.

With the hatch now open, Jack, Locke and the rest of the group have to decide as to how they proceed next. Naturally, Locke being the man of faith, decides he wants to jump in head first to find his 'destiny' while Jack initially takes a more reserved approach. Jack and Locke's constant struggle is nothing new to fans of the show from the first season but what I find great in this episode is that Jack eventually switches gears and acts on faith when he decides to go into the hatch himself. It really ties well into the flashback, which features Jack, the man of science, lacking the faith in himself to believe that he could actually have fixed Sarah.

The first reveal of Desmond David Hume is very well executed both on and off the island. Desmond's first scene with Jack is one that really stuck with me from the first time I had scene this episode. Henry Ian Cusick's delivery of a few of the lines during this scene in the stadium always gave me the impression that the character knew more than he was letting on. Especially, his delivery of "What if you did fix her?" in reference to Sarah's spinal surgery. With what we know of the Lost universe, anything is possible but in the end I seriously doubt that any foreshadowing was intended in this scene.

Desmond and Jack's first encounter sets up their surprising second encounter perfectly. It's a strong end to the first episode and really emphasizes the unusual connections that characters have off the island. Desmond's reveal comes a moment after a frustrated Jack asks Locke, "Is this your destiny?" Throughout the series Jack's faith in logical thinking and science is put to the test, this encounter with Desmond is one of the more memorable times he's really forced to question his beliefs. One second Jack is questioning Locke's faith and the next second he comes face to face with Desmond – someone he remembers. It has to be a shock to the system for Jack and it's a great cliffhanger to end an episode on. Of all the things that Jack could have found in the hatch, someone who impacted him at a critical moment in his life has to be the most mind blowing.

The rest of the survivors of Flight 815 are left with little to do in the second season premiere. Shannon has an encounter with a ghostly version of Walt who incoherently tries to tell her something. The survivors are mostly waiting on Jack's leadership to guide them to safety and to give them some sort of hope that everything will be alright. Again, even when it comes to the rest of the survivors, the focus is really on Jack who is shown in flashback struggling when it comes to giving Sarah hope as to whether or not she will walk again. On the island, he takes his father's advice and gives the survivors hope where there really is none. "Man of Science, Man of Faith" kicks starts the second season with a fantastic Jack episode that really exemplifies the struggles he has as a leader and savior for this group throughout the series.